HashKey’s New $100M Fund to Prioritize Altcoins

Korbit, Ewha-Chain Leverage NFTs to Promote Blockchain KnowledgeEwha-Chain, a blockchain study group at Ewha Womans University, recently tweeted that it has collaborated with Korbit, one of South Korea’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, to hold an non-fungible token (NFT) airdrop event for college students, offering free ice cream as an incentive.Hands-on experienceThe event aims to introduce participants to the crypto exchange and provide hands-on experience with Web3 and blockchain technology, as well as showcasing the benefits of NFTs.To participate, students have to create a Korbit account using their email address and register for an Ice-Chain NFT by completing a Google Form. Korbit will distribute the NFTs on the afternoon of May 11, the day before the event.Free ice creamOn the day of the event, Ice-Chain NFT holders can visit the Ewha Womans University branch of the Ice Girl Cream Boy ice cream shop to spin a wheel and win either free ice cream or Korbit merchandise.According to Korean economic news media Paxetv, Kim Il-kwon, head of business development at Korbit, said that the Ice-Chain event strives to familiarize university students with blockchain technology and promote the Korbit brand. Kim added that Korbit is dedicated to ongoing cooperation with Ewha-Chain and expanding channels to engage with millennials and Generation Z.Photo by ROMAN ODINTSOV on Pexels

Crypto Titans Clash on Elon Musk’s XA subtle panel discussion photo posted by Andrei Grachev of Singapore’s DWF Labs turned into a war of words among crypto trading titans on Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter).Photo by Marek Piwnicki on UnsplashDWF vs GSRGrachev, who is a Managing Partner at the market maker and Web3 investment firm, thanked his fellow panelists in the post. However, the tone quickly soured as Cristian Gil, Co-Founder of rival market-making giant GSR, took offense to Grachev’s presence on the panel and voiced his disapproval on the platform.Gil didn’t mince his words, stating: “[Andrei Grachev] had absolutely no business to be on that panel. It’s insulting to [GSR] , [OKX] and [Wintermute] to be in the same room as [DWF Labs].”DWF vs WintermuteHis remarks received a “Like” from Evgeny Gaevoy, the CEO of market maker Wintermute. In response, Grachev defended his presence, asserting that DWF was superior in technology, trading, and business development compared to its rivals, going so far as to suggest to Gil: “Yeah, if I were you — I would be also crying all the time.”The exchange continued with Grachev claiming that DWF was capturing market share from Wintermute, and Gaevoy responded with a nonchalant “lol,” challenging Grachev to invest more if he believed DWF posed a threat.DWF Labs’ rapid growthWhile the exchange consisted of mere words, it shed light on DWF Labs’ sudden rise to prominence earlier over recent months. The company has featured prominently in an array of investments in Web3 startups and blockchain networks over the course of 2023. Prominent among them have been investments in EOS, the Algorand ecosystem, and the TRON ecosystem.Recently appearing on the BlockBeats podcast, Grachev defended the company, outlining that it was not involved in market manipulation in response to recent assertions to the contrary.“We do not engage in any manipulative behavior,” Grachev stated. “Of course, we have the futures market, which is a tool for hedging positions and trading clubs. We are completely different from directional traders,” he added.Gaevoy added some humor to the mix by sharing a meme, raising questions about the maturity level of these prominent figures in the crypto industry. The spat provoked a broad array of commentary from the crypto community.Crypto immaturityThe very public clash raises concerns about how traditional Wall Street firms, currently making bold moves into the crypto space, might perceive such behavior. Notably, firms like BlackRock have been involved in Bitcoin ETF applications, signaling a growing interest in cryptocurrency among mainstream financial institutions. In response to Gaevoy and Grachev, one commentator wrote: “The institutions are never coming back.”While it would appear that there’s no love lost between DWF, GSR, and Wintermute, it also seems evident that both market makers can agree on Singapore as being an appropriate location from where to operate a crypto business. While Wintermute is London-based, it revealed recently that it was expanding its operations in Singapore. Like Wintermute, GSR is primarily based in London although it too maintains a presence in Singapore to service Asia-centric business.

South Korean blockchain firm Ozys announced today that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Creder, a company dedicated to integrating traditional assets into the blockchain realm, to tokenize physical assets like precious metals into real-world assets (RWAs), according to Korean news site Digital Today on Thursday (KST). "Gold is one of the major RWA assets as the market value of assets linked with physical goods is increasing in the global market. We will take a transparent approach in expanding the RWA token ecosystem and showcase our business performance through our cooperation," said Lim Dae-hoon, CEO of Creder.Photo by Jingming Pan on UnsplashDriving innovationAs a member of the Klaytn ecosystem, internet juggernaut Kakao’s blockchain, Ozys operates platforms like Allbit.com, a layer 2 decentralized exchange (DEX), and a cross-chain token transfer platform dubbed Orbit Bridge. The firm utilizes blockchain-based technologies like smart contracts and Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) to develop and run its platforms. Meanwhile, Creder is currently working on The Mining Club, a project that mints solid gold into NFTs for safe storage and transfer. The gold NFTs are available for purchase on the NFT marketplace OpenSea. It is also developing Gold Station, a platform that allows for the digitized purchase, storage and investment of gold through the Gold Pegged Coin (GPC). GPC is a physical gold-based RWA issued on the Klaytn network. Expanding the scope of Web3The two companies will work together to onboard GPC to KLAYswap – Klaytn’s on-chain swap protocol – which will be issued via smart contract on Jan. 3. The two companies also plan to tokenize other precious metals like silver, copper and palladium. By combining physical assets and blockchain technology, the companies aim to expand the Web3 ecosystem and lead next-generation markets. "The tokenization of gold, which is considered a safe asset, is expected to diversify the Web3 ecosystem," said Choi Jin-han, CEO of Ozys. "We plan to explore various collaborations with Creder, starting with the onboarding of the gold-based token GPC on KLAYswap."